Bangladesh: In 1947 the Partition of India caused the formation of East
and West Pakistan (separated by a distance of about 1,000 miles). Although
the two regions shared a common religion (Islam) large ethnic and linguistic
differences existed which in 1971, following the Bangladesh Liberation War, led
to the formation of Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan) as a country separate from both India and
Pakistan. It is the third largest Muslim-majority nation, and one of the
most densely populated countries in the world; about 147 million people live
in an area about the size of Iowa, with about a third of the land prone to
flooding each year. The infant mortality rate is 61 out of every 1,000
live births, the literacy rate is 43% and the gross domestic product equivalent to
USA $2,100 per capita.
From the Grameen Bank website: Grameencredit is based on the premise that the poor have skills which remain unutilised or under-utilised. It is ...